Just keep swimming - UVA prompt - a quote that inspires you and can inspire others

UVA prompt- a quote that inspires you and can inspire others

Children's movies are the best genre. Although this is a little biased coming from a self proclaimed Disney fanatic, whose Netflix suggestion box is rated for those between ages eight and twelve, it is a proclamation that I will bring to my grave. Today's "popular" films spend too much on explosions and costumes that it distracts from the overall theme. Movies should do more than entertain us for an hour and a half, rather they should teach us something to apply to our lives. I have seen "Finding Nemo" about a hundred times, each time, leaving with Dory's catch phrase "just keep swimming" stuck in my head for a week. It's a simple but inspiring phrase. There have been times in my life where it would have been easier for me to turn around or have given up, but if I did that then I wouldn't be where I am today. Dory teaches us that sometimes it is best to sacrifice our time in order to help others who need it most. For the past two years I have spent three hours every Sunday night volunteering at the hospital. I have unfortunately seen things that I will never be able to forget, things which left me feeling heartbroken, but rather than quit I decided to continue on with my journey to help those who need comfort the most. "Just keep swimming" is an easy, recognizable phrase that can be applied to many aspects of life to help people to continue through their hardships and to help others do the same, just as it has helped me to do so.

@aes1999
Hi Aubrey! I am also working on the essays of UVA and I find your idea quite inspiring! However, to me it might be better if you elaborate less on the general things of films. Rather, you can just tell a story of yourself with an emphasis on how you get courage and power from "Just keep swimming." The overall idea is pretty cool and I wish you good luck Anbrey, hopefully we become classmates :-D

Aubrey, if you want to really strengthen this essay, the don't dwell on the story of "Finding Dory" as a film. A simple reference to the movie as the source of the quote is sufficient enough. You are not iMDB so you need not be so detailed in the description of the film. This is almost a film analysis rather than a response to a prompt. What you should do is open the essay with the quote from the movie, say the name of the movie, then explain why this is a quote that you find highly applicable to your own life. After you explain that part, you can then consider how you view other people who come to you for advice and you tell them to "just keep swimming". and why you tell them that. Make sure that you will have 2 different explanations. One for the applicability of the quote to yourself, then its applicability to others whom you wish to help. This isn't about how the quote applies to Dory, which you are trying to fit to yourself. Rather, this is about you, finding a deeper meaning in the quote than just what was offered in the film. Go beyond Dory and what you learned from the movie. Go for the deep insight into the quote instead.

As you shift the focus of the essay to you overcoming your obstacles like martin and holt said, I think you should pay attention to this:

I have unfortunately seen things that I will never be able to forget, things which left me ...

I feel that this "struggle" is not very convincing, as there can be greater difficulties in hospital voluntary work than some graphic, heartbreaking things. Maybe try to find a greater obstacle to prove your resilience?

Greetings, I happen to be reading your essay and just want to give some quick advice.

1. Reveal your theme in the first one or two sentences. As I read, it took me quite some time to "finally" find the sentence you are trying to talk about. Imagine your are the admission officer, and you have to read dozens of essays everyday. Wouldn't you expect to find the key sentence as quickly as possible?

2. Really think about the sentence you were trying to promote. As I read your essay, it clearly showed that you have a lot of thoughts regarding this sentence, but, what is the most important things about this sentence that made you so inspired?

3. Ask yourself this question: Is it the one that really inspire me?